Manchester United have finally avoided a lengthy Europa League journey, being drawn against Belgian side RSC Anderlecht in Friday's quarter-final draw.

The Reds have previously trekked to Odessa to face Zorya Luhansk, Turkey to place Fenerbahce and, of course, most recently to Rostov-on-Don as they drew 1-1 to FC Rostov.

Man United to face Anderlecht

The quarter-final will begin at Anderlecht's ground on April 13th with the second leg at Old Trafford to be played on April 20th before the semi-final draw on the following day.

José Mourinho's side unconvincingly beat Russian side FC Rostov 2-1 on aggregate to progress past the round of 16. A 1-1 draw on Rostov's now banned pitch, which Mourinho described as a "field", was followed by a 1-0 win at Old Trafford on Thursday night, Juan Mata scoring the only goal of the game.

Though United progressed, they lost midfielder Paul Pogba to a hamstring injury in the second half. The Reds have already played a mammoth 47 games this season, by March, and injuries are beginning to mount up with Pogba joining Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and Bastian Schweinsteiger on the growing list, as well as Daley Blind who suffered a head injury on Thursday.

Mourinho may see Europa League as more realistic than top four

That's alongside suspensions to Zlatan Ibrahimović and Ander Herrera, both of whom have a further two matches to their bans and will miss Premier League games against Middlesbrough and West Brom.

Mourinho has consistently complained about fixture congestion in the past three months, though the Portuguese will be thankful the Europa League presents a second and alternative opportunity to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

United remain sixth in the Premier League despite being unbeaten in the Premier League since November. Breaking into the top four has been tough for Mourinho and having drawn Anderlecht, Mourinho may consider the Europa League, with only five games between the Reds and victory, a more viable way of qualifying for the Champions League than finishing in the Premier League's top four.

Meanwhile, two strong sides in the competition, Besiktas and Lyon, face each other at quite an early stage making Man United's chances of winning the Europa League for the first time in their history stronger.